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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Abbas insists on Jerusalem in settlement freeze |
| 2010-11-22 |
| [Dawn] The B.O. regime's troubled attempt to revive Mideast peace talks took another blow Sunday when the Paleostinian president rejected the latest US plan to get the sides talking again. the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas said a proposed 90-day freeze on Israeli settlement construction wouldn't get him back to the negotiating table unless it includes east Jerusalem, a condition Israel staunchly opposes. Paleostinians claim east Jerusalem for their future capital. For decades, Israel has built Jewish sections around the city's periphery, and about 200,000 Jews live there now. Paleostinians consider the large neighborhoods as illegal settlements. The impasse highlights the gaps the US must bridge _ not to just to achieve a peace deal, but even to get the sides to sit down and talk about one. In Cairo Sunday, Abbas said any construction freeze must include east Jerusalem "first and foremost," along with the West Bank. "If the moratorium does not apply to all Paleostinian territories, including east Jerusalem, we will not accept it," Abbas said after consultations with geriatric President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt. The issue of Israeli settlements has bedeviled the latest round of peace talks since their launch in September. They broke down three weeks later when a previous 10-month slowdown on West Bank construction expired. Since then, the US has been pushing Israel to impose a new, 90-day moratorium to draw the Paleostinians back to talks. The US hopes the sides can reach a deal on future borders during that time, in effect determining which settlements Israel will get to keep in a peace agreement and defusing the issue of where it can build. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Yep, the Paleos tried to play their little trick one time too many. What is interesting, so far, is why the Paleos haven't tried on another Intefadah yet. I suspect that the previous one was such an utter flop, that the typical Paleo on the street has a FTS attitude towards a new one. From the Israeli point of view, what Bibi is doing right now is working like a charm. But he has to remember that the clock is ticking, so he needs to push hard, but not too hard, to get as much done as possible before "things change", again. The best bet is to take over as much of East Jerusalem as possible. Every Jew who moves into there means that much less possibility of it remaining as a bargaining chip. Once it is wholly owned, game over. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-11-22 14:45 |
| #1 Bibi gambled, and won. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2010-11-22 01:23 |